Weaving shuttle



May 20, 1969 Filed April 24, 1967 H. scHAFFER WEAViNG SHUTTLE Sheet of2May 20, 1969 H. SCHAFFER WEAVING SHUTTLE Sheet Filed April 24, 1967 2 am s 2 2 f E 4 an m 2 y. H .P 9 Q .9 @N

United States Patent US. Cl. 139-125 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA weaving shuttle for picking weft threads into the shed on a loom,which comprises an elongated body, a passage extending through saidbody, thread-holding means positioned in said passage whereby a weftthread, upon being inserted into the shed by the shuttle, is held withinsaid passage, so that a free end of the thread extends from the sidewall of the shuttle on the reed side of the loom, and a recess on thereed-side wall of said body, the recess extending over the entire widthof said body and extending, in the longitudinal direction of the saidside wall, over at least the zone on the body covered by the free end ofthread projecting from the shuttle during its movement through the shed.

The present invention relates to a weaving shuttle for picking weftthreads into the shed and in particular to a shuttle by which the weftthread, upon being drawn into the shed by the shuttle, is held in anopening passing through the shuttle in such maner that a free end of thethread protrudes from the side wall of the shuttle on the reed side.

Weaving shuttles are known which have in their interior a bobbin whichcarries a supply of yarn. In these shuttles the thread, on passingthrough the shed is drawn out of the shuttle at one end. If this end islocated at the rear of the shuttle, then the thread runs backwards fromthat point. During movement of the shuttle in the other direction,however, the thread must run along the shuttle. In order to cause thethread to take up a prescribed position, these shuttles are providedwith a guiding groove lying in the longitudinal direction of the shuttleand extending over its entire length. This groove is located on the sideof the shuttle facing away from the reed.

In the case of shuttles of the above-mentioned kind in which the threadto be inserted into the shed is held in the shuttle, it is likewise alsoknown to provide a guiding groove on the side facing away from the reed,and the thread to be picked is guided by means of this groove. Then, inorder to prevent the trapping, between shuttle and reed, of the free endof the weft thread to be inserted, which end projects on the side facingthe reed, a like groove could likewise be provided for this free end. Ithas been found, however, that such a solution is not satisfactory.

The object of the present invention is to prevent the free end frombeing trapped or frayed. This is achieved by providing, in the wall ofthe shuttle on the reed side, a recess which extends over the wholewidth of this wall and, in the longitudinal direction of this side wall,extends over at least the zone of the end of the thread projecting outof the moving shuttle.

The invention will now be described in greater detail by reference tothe accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a plan view of one embodiment of the weaving shuttle ofthe invention;

FIGURE 2 shows an elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1,as seen on the side facing the reed;

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FIGURE 3 shows a plan view of another embodiment of the shuttle; and

FIGURE 4 shows an elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 3,as seen on the side facing the reed.

In the drawings like reference numerals designate like elements of theinvention.

FIGURES 1 and 2 show a shuttle 11. The shuttle 11 lies against the reedwhich is represented by the dents 12. The reed is secured to the sley20. Shuttle 11 has an elongated body and is provided with two openingsor passages 13 extending completely therethrough. In relation to themiddle of the shuttle, the openings 13 are arranged symmetrically alongthe longitudinal direction of the body of the shuttle. A thread holderor thread clamp 14 is positioned in each of the openings 13. The twosmall plates of the holder 14 are pressed towards each other by means ofthe springs .19. A pin 15 serves to define the position of the threadlaid into the holder 14. The shuttle 11 also has a projection 22extending over its length upon which act the guide elements (notillustrated) for guiding the shuttle 11 during its flight. When theshuttle 11 is being driven, the picking stick acts upon the end surfaces21.

A recess or sunken portion 17, (see FIGURE 1) is provided on that sideof the shuttle 11 which faces the reed 12. Sunken portion 17 extendstowards the tips of the shuttle on both ends and over a zone whichextends somewhat beyond the two thread clamps 14. Furthermore, acovering 16, of bristles, nap, plush or the like fibrous material isprovided in the recess 17.

When the weaving loom in operation, weft threads 18 of prescribed lengthare inserted by means of the shuttle 11. For the purpose of passingthese threads to the shuttle, they are, e.g., upon insertion from rightto left, blown through the left-hand opening 13. When, upon beginningits flight, the shuttle 11 starts to move to the left, the thread isthereby pushed between the two jaws of the left-hand holder 14 and isheld thereby. The pin 15 prevents a thread 18 from slipping completelythrough the clamp 14 up to the right-hand end of the left-hand opening13. In this regard FIGURE 1 shows the position of a thread 18 carried bythe shuttle 11 during its flight through the shed. The portion of thethread 18 present on that side of the shuttle 11 facing away from thered 12 extends to the apparatus (not illustrated in the figure) formeasuring out threads to a prescribed length. This apparatus is mountedon the weaving loom, and the thread is drawn off from it. The free end18' of the thread which projects from the side of the shuttle 11 on thereed side, is located in the free space formed by the recess 17 duringthe flight of the shuttle, so that it cannot be trapped between thedents 12 of the reed and the wall of the shuttle on the reed side. Inorder to prevent damage to, or the trapping of, the thread part 18' therecess 17 should extend over the entire width of that side wall of theshuttle 11 located on the reed side.

To particularly prevent looping of the free end 18' of the thread duringthe Eight of the shuttle, in a further embodiment of the invention alayer 16 of fur, plush or the like is provided in the recess 17. Thisfibrous covering 16 extends over at least a part of the recess andadvantageously, over the part lying between the ends of the two openings13 most adjacent the center of the shuttle. Advantageonsly, the lengthof the fibers is such that the thickness of the covering 16 is at leastequal to the depth of the recess 17.

Furthermore, to avoid the possibility of the weft thread 18 to becometrapped with greater certainty, it is advantageous for the recess 17 toextend from the middle of 3 the shuttle further to the left and rightthan the loca tion of the thread clamps 14.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, there is provided a shuttle11' which has, at the middle of its elongated body, a single opening 23for guiding in the weft thread 18. In the ends of the opening 23 remotefrom the middle of the shuttle, there are provided thread clamps orholders 14. These are each formed by two small plates which are pressedtowards each other by means of springs 19. The pins 15 define therearmost position of a thread 18 introduced into the clamp 14. Thisembodiment of the shuttle also has a projecting portion 22 for guidingit with the help of guide elements, while the shuttle 11' is movingthrough the shed. Here again, shuttle 11' is driven by means of apicking stick applied to the end faces 21.

As shown in FIGURE 3, shuttle 11' has two recesses 27 on its sidedirected towards the reed. Each of these recesses or sunken portions 27extends over a certain distance from one of the thread clamps 14 towardsthe end of the shuttle adjacent this thread clamp. This prescribeddistance is at least as long as the free ends 18' of the weft threads 18carried along 'by the shuttle 11'. In this embodiment, it is alsorecommended that the sunken portions 27 be provided with a covering 26of bristles, fur or the like fibrous material.

If the shuttle 11' of FIGURES 3 and 4, for example, is shot through theshed from left to right, then a thread 18 laid through its orifice 23will be seized by the lefthand holder 14 and thereby reaches theposition shown in FIGURE 3 during the flight of the shuttle, The threadgenerally slides as far as the left-hand pin 15 and is held in thisposition by the clamp 14. The recesses 27 are provided so as to preventthe free ends 18 of the thread being trapped by the dents 12 of thereed. As a result of these recesses, the free end 18' of the thread hassufiicient space, and does not sulfer any fraying, also the chances fortangling is avoided by the fitting of the 'bristles 26.

While the novel features of the invention have been shown and describedand are pointed out in the appended claims, it is to .be understood thatvarious omissions, su-bstitutions and changes in construction andarrangement of the features shown and described may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A weaving shuttle for picking Weft threads into a shed of a loomwhich comprises an elongated body, a passage extending transverselythrough said body, threadholding means positioned in said passage forholding a portion of a weft thread in the vicinity of its free endwhereby upon insertion of the thread into the shed by the shuttle thefree end of the thread projects from that portion held in said passagealong the side wall of the elongated body on the reed side of the loomand a recess of the reed-side wall of said body, said recess extendingover the entire width of said body and extending in the longitudinaldirection of said side wall from said passage, in a direction oppositeto that of the movement of the shuttle during picking of the weft threadover a zone of the body which is covered .by the free end of the threadprojecting from the shuttle during movement through the shed.

2. The weaving shuttle of claim 1, in which the recess extends along thebody of the shuttle from the location of the thread-holding means in adirection of the movement of the shuttle during picking of the weftthread.

3. The weaving shuttle of claim 1 further comprising a layer of fibrousmaterial extending over at least a part of the recess.

4. The weaving shuttle of claim 3 in which the thickness of the fibrousmaterial is at least equal to the depth of the recess.

5. The weaving shuttle of claim 1 in which two passages are arrangedsymmetrically with respect to the middle of said body and said recessextends along said body in a longitudinal direction between said twopassages.

6. The weaving shuttle of claim 1 in which said passage is arranged inthe middle of the body of said shuttle, said thread holding meanscomprise two thread-holding devices, each positioned at the ends of thepassage remote from the middle of the shuttle body, and two recesses areprovided in said body, each of which extends over a prescribed distancefrom the location of one of the thread-holding devices towards the endof the shuttle adjacent to said one of the thread-holding devices.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 948,945 2/1910 Smith 139-1261,215,729 2/1917 Smith 139-125 1,729,413 9/ 1929 Ashton 139-1252,157,055 5/1939 Ho'lcombe 139-196 2,198,024 4/1940 Burcham et a1.139-196 2,614,587 I10/1952 Burcham 139-196 3,174,514 3/ 1965 Schaffer 139-125 3,256,914 6/1966 Hortmann 139-125 FOREIGN PATENTS 223,951 '3/1958 Australia. 1,134,606 12/1956 France.

JAMES KEE CHI, Primary Examiner.

